Teams sought for bartending competition at Blue 82

The lounge Blue 82 in downtown Albany is seeking bartending teams from area bars and restaurants to participate in a 10-week competition that will begin next week.

Starting Jan. 31 and running for nine more Thursdays, two-person teams from different establishments will work the Blue 82 bar from 9 p.m. to midnight. They will be judged by industry experts for style, speed, overall gross sales and sales of products from the competition’s sponsors, Red Bull and Heineken. The champion, to be announced on week 11, will win what’s described as a significant prize, likely to be a trip to a major Red Bull event.

The team for Jan. 31 is from Wolf’s 1-11 Arena Sports Grill in downtown Albany. Future teams already signed up are from the Lark Tavern, Graney’s, Stout, Athos and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Check Blue 82’s Facebook page next week for the full lineup.

Teams interested in participating should email Mike Ripley at ripleymw@yahoo.com.

5 Responses

Cool idea but too bad they can’t just base it on ability. Using gross sales sucks for the team that gets the 4 degree night and is great for the team that gets the first warm Thursday of the year. And also an advantage to the cute girl who convinces the guys ordering to buy a Heineken or Red Bull to help her out. Of course, I guess you could argue that is an important bartending skill.